The Spring Meeting was held at Walton Heath on Thursday 11th April, with a field of 46 players including 8 guests. At one point almost 60 players had been registered but the numbers dropped over the last few weeks before the date. Despite rain on the days leading up to the 11th the Meeting was played under dull but dry conditions, and increasingly breezy as the day wore on.
The morning round was played in traditional 2 ball foursomes stableford for the Busby & Timms Bowls on the Old Course with starts from both 1st and 15th tees. After a splendid lunch the field for the afternoon round on the New Course was slightly smaller, playing foursomes stableford for the Gardiner Goblets. An innovation for this meeting was to play the afternoon round with three pairs playing together to try and achieve an earlier finish than in recent years, also enabling more people to play together.
Trophy winners and runners-up were:
BUSBY & TIMMS BOWLS
Winners: Peter Edwards and guest Richard Harris 36 points
Runners-up: Richard Freedman and Martin Fox 35 points
GARDINER GOBLETS
Winners: Bill John and Paul Shepherd 36 points
Runners-up Mike Lee and Martin Lawrence 36 points
and the best two round scores for the:
LONGMAN QUARTS
Winners: James Philpott and guest Toby Sykes 76 points
Runners-up: Nick Beattie and guest Jamie Patton 68 points
James and Toby were the winning pair in 2023 and returned to defend their trophies in fine style, recording 36 points on the Old Course and a magnificent 40 points on the New Course, receiving 5 shots for each round. The writer had the pleasure of playing alongside them in the afternoon, observing at first hand Toby’s length and accuracy from the tee and James’s unerring aim with his putter from 20 feet or more; an irresistible combination.
It was also very pleasing to see new member Paul Shepherd, who had driven down from Yorkshire, enjoying success with Bill John as winners on the New Course.
The service from the Walton Heath clubhouse staff was impeccable, and the course was in fine condition after all the major work of the last couple of years.
Alan Ewart, Match Manager
